12 Zhongyi

"Du Zhijin, you're not allowed to say you like anyone else from now on."

"How much of your mother's belongings did you pawn? Are these enough to redeem her?"

Ying Jianhua did the math and nodded slightly: "That's enough. If the market is good, there might even be a little left over."

Upon hearing this, Du Zhijin breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. Otherwise, you should go to the city tomorrow. It's better to do these things sooner rather than later, otherwise it would be unfortunate if someone else bought it."

He responded silently, but his eyelashes lowered slightly.

Unfortunately, it can't be redeemed.

They spent half a day in the mountains, and by the time they descended, it was nearly dusk. Smoke curled from the village chimneys, and the sounds of barking dogs mingled with the lively chatter of people drifted from behind the low walls. After tidying up their house a bit, the sound of suona horns rang out from the village entrance. Ying Jianhua was somewhat surprised: "Is someone in the village preparing a feast?"

Du Zhijin said, "The Liu family's daughter is engaged today."

Unexpectedly, Ying Jianhua heard village gossip from her, and looked at her in surprise. Receiving his gaze, Du Zhijin explained, "Honghua told me. Besides, didn't Aunt Huang ask me to do carpentry work for the Liu family's daughter? I even received a lucky egg as a gift."

Reminded by her, Ying Jianhua then recalled that there seemed to be such a thing, and nodded: "Let's also give some bear meat to Aunt Huang."

Du Zhijin had no objections, but instead became extremely curious about this happy event, asking him what the procedures were like for a wedding in the countryside: "I've never seen a normal wedding before."

Ying Jianhua said, "Are there any abnormal marriages? Haven't they all been the same for thousands of years? Families who are particular about marriage go through the six rites of betrothal, asking the name, accepting the auspicious date, setting the wedding date, and the wedding ceremony. Families that are not particular about marriage, like farmers, simply hold a few tables of food and have a meal with the two families' neighbors and relatives, and that's considered proper."

The Liu family was considered well-off in Wuling Village, so the difference between the two families was just that one of them hosted a banquet.

"So, you cultivators have a very different way of getting married?"

Du Zhijin shook his head at him: "In our sect, there are also True Persons who have become Daoist Couples. There are no special arrangements. The only difference before and after becoming Daoist Couples is that the swords of both parties will have identical sword tassels hanging on them."

"Just sword tassels? Don't we need to live in the same cave dwelling?" He searched through the fantasy novels he had read before and found the word "cave dwelling".

"No need. Cultivators, especially sword cultivators like us, can often split half a mountain in one stroke. If two sword cultivators lived together, it would be impossible; they wouldn't even be able to split one mountain in a day."

Ying Jianhua opened her mouth and said, "If we don't live together, how can we meet?"

Du Zhijin thought for a moment and replied, "Indeed, we don't see each other often. About once every six months? Every six months, the sect leader will summon all disciples except those in seclusion back to the sect. Everyone gathers together to learn from each other's strengths and make up for their weaknesses."

He couldn't help but ask, "If you don't live together or see each other, what's the difference between being married and not being married? If that's the case, why get married at all?"

Du Zhijin said she didn't know either: "I heard from the elders that there are very few Daoist couples in the sect. It might not happen for ten years to find one."

After hearing her words, Ying Jianhua frowned: "This is different from what's written in the storybooks..."

Du Zhijin looked at him with a smile, finding Doctor Ying's appearance quite amusing. She had thought he knew everything, but she never expected him to believe what was written in storybooks.

She shook her head and said, "If it were like in the stories, where someone would slaughter an entire city for one person without the sect even having to lift a finger, the heavenly lightning would strike him down first. Once you enter the Daoist sect, you've severed all worldly ties, and love, hate, and grudges are all just fleeting clouds."

Ying Jianhua retorted, "You don't seem like you've severed all worldly ties either." The demon was actually hoping she and Lu Ping would become a couple.

Du Zhijin said solemnly, "I haven't done it yet, but that's what my master said."

As the two were talking, Honghua darted around in the yard. Seeing them come out, she hurriedly called out, "Sister Mu, Doctor Ying, come and eat!"

Aunt Huang also poked her head out, holding two neatly arranged bowls of oily stir-fried vegetables, and smiled and nodded at them. The two exchanged a glance, then started walking towards the Liu family's house.

Honghua, the little hostess, ate with gusto, her mouth brimming with oil and her eyes sparkling. She pulled Du Zhijin to an empty seat at her table and whispered in her ear, "I hid a piece of braised pork in your rice, specially for you."

She really liked this older sister; she could comb her hair, make little wooden puppets, and even gave her a flower! Originally, she was a little afraid of Doctor Ying, though not as terrified as the other children, but she was often scolded by her mother for being unruly. But ever since her older sister moved into Doctor Ying's house, she'd even started to like Doctor Ying more!

Ying Jianhua was completely unaware that she had benefited from Du Zhijin's influence. She sat awkwardly at the table and chatted with a group of villagers, some familiar and some not.

The villagers had practically watched him grow up, but he didn't actually attend these kinds of banquets very often. Because...

"Xiao Ying, how old are you now? Won't you be eighteen next year?"

He knew it. Ying Jianhua took a deep breath, maintaining a calm demeanor: "Uncle Zhou has a good memory, he is indeed seventeen this year."

"Sigh, it's not easy for you to grow up like this," Uncle Zhou said with a sigh, then changed the subject, "If your mother were still alive, she would be looking after a marriage for you. Look at the Liu family's child, he's a year younger than you, and the wedding is set for the Orchid Bath Festival. Maybe next year, Old Liu will be holding his grandson!"

At this point, Ying Jianhua's smile had already stiffened, and she declined, saying, "My family is poor, and I dare not think about such things."

Uncle Zhou slapped his thigh: "What's there to be afraid of? You have such excellent medical skills, and such a handsome face. The most handsome face in the surrounding area, it can't be wasted!"

"Listen to me, I know a girl who's three years older than you, and her family..."

Ever since he started running off to the back mountain, the village uncles, aunts, and other relatives had said these things countless times. Most of them meant well and didn't want to push him into a pit of fire. But it was precisely because of their "good intentions" that Ying Jianhua couldn't bring herself to refuse.

Otherwise, if you say he's impotent, no one would want him if he couldn't have children...

But those words sounded familiar... He looked up at Du Zhijin and found that she was actually enjoying her meal, unlike his own sense of urgency.

He suddenly felt a surge of resentment, so he picked up a piece of green bean with his chopsticks and gave it to her.

Du Zhijin was enjoying his meat when a pile of green beans suddenly appeared in his bowl. He grunted in surprise.

He gently reminded you, "You've just recovered from a serious illness, so you shouldn't eat too much meat."

In reality, farmhouses rarely cook meat or fish. He just couldn't stand her staying out of it.

Du Zhijin had no doubts and actually ate the green beans, commenting, "You can tell this is Aunt Huang's cooking skill just by tasting it; she likes to make pickled green beans."

As soon as she opened her mouth, Uncle Zhou's attention immediately turned to her, and he cheerfully began to inquire, "Young lady, what's your name? How old are you? Where are you from...?"

The others at the table shook their heads. Uncle Zhou wasn't really that bad, he just loved playing matchmaker, and he'd ruined the village's girls, boys, and even dogs.

Du Zhijin was overwhelmed by a barrage of questions and tried to ask Doctor Ying for help, but instead saw Ying Jianhua's slightly upturned lips.

There's a feeling that she got scammed...

Faced with the enthusiastic Uncle Zhou, Du Zhijin couldn't resist and could only reluctantly put down his chopsticks. He honestly answered, "Mu Yishui." "Nineteen." "Hometown... um, I call the world my home." ... "What kind of young man do you like?"

The last one stumped her; she didn't know what "zhongyi" meant.

Uncle Zhou explained to her, "Oh, 'zhongyi' means 'like' or 'to like'."

Du Zhijin nodded thoughtfully, his gaze drifting to Ying Jianhua beside him: "Then I prefer Doctor Ying."

Upon hearing this, the room fell silent.

Even Ying Jianhua, who had finally escaped from suffering, was stunned.

Several intense gazes fell upon them, momentarily overshadowing the actual bride and groom.

"What's wrong? Can't you choose Doctor Ying?" Du Zhijin asked, puzzled, seeing everyone standing there in a daze.

She was unfamiliar with many of the customs of Wuling Village, such as the Orchid Bath Festival and the custom of choosing one's favorite flower. Receiving no response, she assumed she had unintentionally violated a village custom and hesitantly added, "Then can I choose a red flower?"

Honghua, who was helping her mother serve dishes, heard this and quickly ran over, calling out sweetly, "I like you too, sister!"

Du Zhijin chuckled and patted her fluffy little head.

Uncle Zhao quickly tried to smooth things over: "Hahaha, who doesn't like our Little Red Flower? She's as big as a plate."

Honghua didn't like hearing that and immediately jumped up to correct him: "It's a silver plate! The silver plate of the moon! Saying 'plate' alone is an insult!" "Okay, okay, yes, yes, yes."

The atmosphere became lively again. After this incident, Uncle Zhou dared not act as a matchmaker for anyone again and kept his mouth shut until the banquet ended.

Surprisingly, Ying Jianhua didn't say much either.

Du Zhijin held back until she got home that evening before asking him, "Dr. Ying, are you sick again? Is your throat sore?"

The person on the bed turned over, her back to her, and said, "...No."

Since Du Zhijin's cultivation had almost recovered, Ying Jianhua agreed to her suggestion that "she sleep on the floor," so he is now sleeping on the tatami.

Du Zhijin wanted to say that her voice was already hoarse, but she knew Doctor Ying's awkward nature; he wouldn't admit it unless he was too sick to get out of bed.

In response, she could only quietly make the room a little warmer so that he could sleep more soundly.

Nothing was said that night, and Du Zhijin, as usual, said, "Sleep well." The courtyard was very quiet, so quiet that you could clearly hear the footsteps of Xiao Huang running around next door, and so quiet that even the slightest movement of Ying Jianhua tossing and turning had to be kept to a minimum.

He opened his eyes to the pitch-black sky outside the window, and only one voice kept echoing in his mind.

"I prefer Dr. Ying."

How could she... He knew she didn't mean that, but...

There was a rustling sound of blankets being pulled from the bed. Du Zhijin suddenly opened his eyes: "Dr. Ying, are you alright?"

Ying Jianhua remained silent. After a while, she heard another rustling sound of blankets being pulled off, followed by his fierce threat: "Du Zhijin, you are not allowed to say you like anyone else in the future, especially Lu Ping!"

What does this have to do with Lu Ping? Du Zhijin nodded as if he understood, and asked in return, "Then, can I say that I like you?"

Surely it's not just anyone, Dr. Ying.

The person on the bed froze again. After a moment, he bit his lip and said angrily, "No!"